Board hears presentation on dispatch center

Friday

Jun 20, 2014 at 10:16 AMJun 20, 2014 at 10:16 AM

By Andy Barrand@abarrandHDN

HILLSDALE — Mike Overton, Jackson County administrator, made a presentation Wednesday at the Hillsdale County Emergency Telephone Service Board regarding the possibility of the two counties combining dispatch services from one location.Overton was asked to speak at the meeting by Hillsdale County Commissioner John Burtka, as the board is currently looking at options for the purchase of a new building or construction of a new facility in the county.“I just thought it would be our fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of Hillsdale County to look at all options,” Burtka said.Overton said his main reason for coming to the meeting was just to present the idea for consideration.“We are still doing our homework,” Overton said.Overton stressed that there are a lot of details which would have to be worked out before any agreement could be reach.Jackson County is currently in the process of renovating the former Joey’s Junction office on Lansing Avenue. The structure will become the Jackson County Human Services Building.Overton said the new facility has room for the additional dispatchers it would take to operate services for Hillsdale and Jackson Counties.Overton said he has also had initial talks with the administrator in Lenawee County about the possibility of sharing services.“The future is to collaborate with neighbors,” he said.Overton, who was the county administrator in Cheboygan County before coming to Jackson, said he knows the partnership can work because Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet Counties in the northern part of the state have a central dispatch center.“I have lived it and seen the savings,” he said. “Like anything it will have challenges, but I imagine they are the same challenges you already face.”After his presentation Overton took questions from those in attendance, but no formal motion was made by the board to look into the possibility of the proposal.“I felt it was important we at least think about this,” Burtka told the board.After the presentation the board went ahead with its regular agenda discussing the possibility of building a dispatch center in Hillsdale County. The board is currently looking at property next to its communication tower in the Hillsdale Industrial Park. The land faces Development Drive.Doug Sanford, Hillsdale County 911 director, said he has had talks with the architect who designed the new dispatch center in Gresham.Sanford said if the county uses the same design as Gresham, the architect services would only cost them $15,000.Sanford said the board was going to continue on its current path unless it hears differently from the County Commissioners, in response to Overton’s presentation.